The Pursuit of Love

Both Linda and Fanny’s relationships become most interesting through what both of them try to convince themselves of: each other, their lovers, and the rest of the world regarding their happiness and relative stability.

Some of the script was a little clunky – Fanny’s status as an outsider was rather overdone – and there were signs that the characters had been given an unnecessary feminist makeover (Fanny lectured Linda about female ambition). But when something is such extraordinarily good fun, it feels churlish to nitpick too much.

Each episode was a joy and a pleasure to watch – and when it comes to Sunday night TV, you can’t ask for more than that.

Scott is a joy to watch; he is consistently, convincingly vivacious—the embodiment of Mitford charm. ... This is a period drama that makes fun of its period’s stuffiness, playing on its stilted conventions. ... The adaptation is also funny, and not shy, on certain unflattering truths regarding motherhood.

Stylish, whimsical, energetic, broad and modern; it is a case of 2021 looking back 80, 90 years, with a contemporary opinion about how things were, and are.

Without sacrificing humor or social commentary, Mortimer thrillingly modernizes The Pursuit of Love by ratcheting up the romance in unexpected ways. ... This new lens hardly detracts from Linda’s magnificent saga. In fact, viewing her through Fanny’s adoring eyes only enhances its colors.

It’s amusing, charming, and focused, like so many classics, on a sense of the corners in which society forces women. As wonderfully specific as these characters are, they are serving broader points about a claustrophobic milieu.

[Emily Mortimer] has crafted a story that feels simultaneously true to its period and modern, with life and energy exploding off the frame. Between her use of contemporary music (soundtrack cuts include Cat Power, Sleater-Kinney, and Marianne Faithfull, among many others), lovingly detailed tableau shots, and strategically deployed chyrons, Pursuit at times feels like what you would get if you hired Wes Anderson to make a Masterpiece Theatre.

Mitford purists may take issue with Mortimer's contemporary touches and some might say it is often too mannered and arch, making the characters superficial. But The Pursuit of Love is glorious Sunday evening fayre and, in following Mitford's lead in "avoiding earnestness at all costs", Mortimer has definitely succeeded.

James relaxes more into her role than she did on her last outing, as a lovestruck archaeologist in The Dig. Fox has a ball in a part he was born to play. ... This adaptation, for all its technical proficiency, crisp one-liners and confident performances, sometimes feels a little chilly.

It was a smart move to limit this story to just the three hourlong episodes, as it keeps us entertained but also allows for Linda to make her exit before her act has worn thin on us.

Despite its straightforward plotting and the obvious contrast in cousins, Mortimer lets “The Pursuit of Love” play messy, since that’s how life itself plays.

Though both of the heroines of “Pursuit” are constrained by the gender expectations of their era, Mortimer and company make judicious feminist points from today’s perspective. For the most part they do so without hitting the nail so squarely it breaks the period atmosphere — which is exquisite, by the way.

Like the glam rock montages and wry Wes Anderson-inspired cutaways, Linda’s glamorous nihilism adds a spiky edge that occasionally jazzes up The Pursuit Of Love’s classic period piece formula with something new.

The Pursuit of Love has a narrative choppiness that often captures the series’ jaunty spirit, but just as often left me challenged to fully invest in some of the key relationships. ... This costs the series some of the gravity it clearly wants to have in its last hour, though it’s completely possible that in the editing room there was a recognition that The Pursuit of Love works better as a rollicking comedy, which is fair and points to how solidly Mortimer has the cast on a common page.

Does “The Pursuit of Love” say anything particularly insightful about womanhood, or about middle-century femininity as domestic ennui, or about the relationship between the arts and self-fulfillment? It hints at these ideas without digging in thoroughly or meaningfully, and its ending is infuriatingly punishing. But the miniseries’ breezy pace, likeable ensemble, and low-key twee style make “The Pursuit of Love” easy to fall into, even with the sense that its satire could have been spikier.

It is enjoyable, and the first episode is quite the best. ... Andrew Scott gives such a witty performance as Merlin, the Radletts' bohemian neighbour, that the scenes which don’t feature him are just marking time between the ones that do. Therein lies one of the problems with this adaptation, which is the directorial debut of Emily Mortimer.

Although we see how even upper-crust girls were stuck in gilt cages, the story never quite addresses this classicism and its characters’ privilege in a way that grocks with the contemporary feminist movement. So while the show is beautifully made, its message feels a few decades too late.